


Mine Too!

by Cherikella



Category: Enjolras/Grantaire - Fandom, les mis
Genre: Heartbreak, M/M, Pretending to be married in order to get in Enjolras' pants... I mean to win Enjolras' affections, Vacation, beach, pretend husbands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5257142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherikella/pseuds/Cherikella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In short, Grantaire meets Enjolras on the beach but strikes out so basically he starts pretending to be married to his best friend Courfeyrac in order to get in Enjolras' pants... I mean to win Enjolras' affections.<br/>That's the gist of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Grantaire Meets Enjolras

Grantaire was lying on the beach, a nice cold drink in one hand. He glanced towards the bar nearby. His friend Courfeyrac was still waiting on the line. Ugh! Faster!  
  
Grant was about to lose patience completely when he suddenly noticed a gorgeous blonde man taking the place next to him. Courfeyrac can take his time now. Grant could not help but gaping at the newcomer, but all he got in return was a total ignore.   
  
The blonde man adjusted the umbrella, no doubt to protect his pale skin from the sun, then he lied down and started reading a book, no!, not a book, a brick! That thing was huge! Who comes to the beach to read a book anyway?   
  
Well, who was R to judge? Grantaire stole a few more looks and finally decided it was worth trying chatting this beauty up.   
  
"What a great day! We should celebrate" he said  
  
The blonde man just looked back at him as if he was surprised Grantaire had even considered talking to him. "My husband's bringing me a drink right now for that precise purpose." he replied  
  
Grantaire literally heard the sound of his hopes shatter to million tiny pieces. But he had to get out of the embarrassment of this situation.  
  
"Mine too!" he heard himself replying before realizing what he was really saying.   
  
The blonde man's face brightened up instantly "Oh!" a smile and a little blush on the cheeks "Good!" he put the book aside. "I'm terribly sorry, I got the wrong impression about you..." 

"Hmmm?" 

"Umm, no never mind" the blonde man smiled again  
  
"I'm Grantaire"  R offered his hand and the stranger shook it   
  
"Enjolras." the blonde man replied "But you can call me Enj."  
  
"Beautiful..." Grant muttered with a dreamy look on his face  
  
"Pardon?" Enjolras asked rather confused by the long handshake   
  
Grantaire let his new acquaintance's hand go and tried to cover up "Beautiful name. Rare too." he said and instantly changed the subject "And you can call me Grant."   
  
"Okay, Grant" Enjolras smiled "Nice making your acquaintance."   
  
"Don't be so formal." Grantaire grinned   
  
"I do apologize, I do it unintentionally." Enjolras replied with the same formality and shut his eyes closed the moment he realized he was doing it again  
  
"It's kind of fun actually." Grantaire said "In an adorable way. So what are you reading?"   
  
That question was followed by a long and passionate explanation about the book, the ideas of the author, a few strong points the said author had and what they should've been like. Grantaire was dumbstruck in the best way possible. His gorgeous man was not only beautiful but also interesting! What could be better than that!?   
  
"Yes, yes, I see what you mean," he said, furrowing his eyebrows, realizing all he ever wanted to do was to listen to Enjolras' opinions,"but I think you're wrong. Aren't you?"  
  
As expected, the result of this remark was another long explanation on the matter, just as passionate, just as interesting. Grantaire was over the moon!   
  
At that moment Courfeyrac returned and tapped Grant by the shoulder.   
  
"Hello! And who's this?" Courf asked with a smile, clueless of what was about to come next, ready to flirt as he always was.   
  
"This is Enjolras, a guy I just met here. Enjolras, this is my husband, Courfeyrac!" Grantaire quickly introduced him to Enjolras before Courfeyrac could say another word.   
  
"Wha--?" Courfeyrac was about to ruin the whole charade but Grant just pulled him in a way too tight a hug than was comfortable. Courfeyrac began to suspect that this was a hint for him to keep quiet and play along so he said nothing. Or maybe he said nothing because he could hardly breath with R's strong arms holding him so tightly.   
  
The usual greetings followed. Enj was polite as ever to Courfeyrac and when Enj's husband - a guy called Combeferre - arrived, he was very polite as well. 

At one point Combeferre had to remind Enjolras that they had 'a thing' so the two men had to leave. 

"It was really great talking to you, Grantaire... Courfeyrac." Enj said, shaking R's hand again "I hope we do this again." 

"I hope we do it soon!" R added and grinned.

Honestly, he just hoped they'd _do it._ And not just once, but as many times possible; not just now, but forever. He knew at that moment that Enjolras was someone he wanted and  _needed_ in his life from now on. But how do you tell the love of your life that you're their soulmate when you've met them for only a couple of hours?

************************************************

Luckily Grantaire had time! A lot of time! It was his holiday after all and he decided to dedicate it to getting closer to Enjolras. What was going on in his head? He had no idea! He was not listening to his head; he was listening to his heart.

"Don't you think I know what you're after, R?" Courf was talking for the last 10 minutes but R kinda wasn't really paying much attention to what he was saying. "You're gonna ruin the guy's marriage. That's really not cool, man! Even I wouldn't go after a married man." 

R shrugged. "Sometimes a marriage is a mistake. If by the end of this holiday Enjolras prefers me to his husband, it's not my fault, it's destiny. And Combeferre's fault." 

"Combeferre's fault!?" Courf exclaimed "How is it Comebferre's fault that you're planning on flirting with his husband like a cat in heat?" 

"Combeferre was so cold to Enjolras... Too cold for a man in love." R said, thinking "Poor Enjolras. He needs more passion, more emotion, more affection." Courf smirked "It's true, Courf! We'll see them today and you'll get your proof." 

"We'll see them today?" 

"You'll see yourself that their marriage has problems for sure!" 

"Um, can we come back to the news that we're gonna see them again today?" Courfeyrac said but R only ignored him again

"And then if Enj will realize that I'm the better choice..." 

"We're not freaking seeing them again, R!" 

"... and then it can only mean one thing!" 

"Yeah, you're insane!" 

"True love..." 

"Shut up!” Courf exploded “True love!? That word coming from you is too much! You don't believe in true love! You don’t believe in anything!" 

"No one believes in true love... until it hits you over the head like a frying pan!" R smiled poetically and went to take his shower. 

***************************************************

They did see them again. Just as planned. Courfeyrac hated Grantiare.

“Enjolras!” R waved with a grin “Over here!”

Enjolras looked in the direction of the voice that was calling him and nodded. He came to Grantaire and greeted him with a polite smile.

“Combeferre is running a bit late…”  he said, looking almost awkwardly.

“It’s okay. Courfeyrac is too.” R replied. The truth was Courf _refused_ to come down with R. Courf did not approve of the idea and thought it would be easier if R found someone else to flirt with instead. But of course Grantaire was not gonna say _that_ to Enjolras now! “We could start without them, y’know.” R said.

Enj nodded. Was it Grantaire, or did Enjolras look a bit stiff today. Strange. 

*************************************************

The evening was going really good. Eventually the unusual stiffness of Enjolras’ behavior slowly disappeared and made room for a passionate nature, intellect and opinions… looooots of opinions! Grantaire was in heaven. He was grinning like an idiot, listening to Enjolras’ babbling and naturally opposing his every word. The guy was such an idealist! So optimistic! Lay off, Enjolras! The world isn’t as good as you think it can be! You’re too good for this world, you pure cinnamon roll! 

Grantaire poured more wine into their glasses.

“Another drink!?” Enjolras exclaimed “Don’t you think we had enough?”

“Wine is the drink of life so let’s live” R smiled

Enjolras chuckled and shook his head with a smile. R finished pouring the wine and raised his glass for a toast.

“At least you’re drinking in style” Enjolras remarked and Grantaire felt his cheeks blush as if he was a schoolgirl.

Apparently Enjolras noticed that too because he suddenly looked around awkwardly. “Um…” he mumbled, glancing at his watch “… maybe I should go check on Combeferre…. He was supposed to be here by now…”  

“Oh! Right. Well… he’s not down yet so…”

“No, I really think I should go now!” Enjolras interrupted him and Grantaire felt like an idiot.

“Of course. Your husband probably needs you…” he heard himself saying

“Thank you for the lovely evening. I—we should do it again sometime… with both our husbands here. Like a double date.”

Grantaire felt a dagger through his heart. Darn it! A double date with the guy you’re in love with and his husband and your pretend husband… that’s some date!

“Goodbye.” Enjolras said after leaving money to pay for his part of the bill.

R tried to protest but Enjolras was gone before he could even open his mouth. And R was alone again. Alone and lonely and everything seemed dark because his sun, his Apollo, was not with him.

**************************************************

“That’s what you get for wanting to steal a married man from his husband!” Courf rejoiced at Grantaire’s frowning face.

“Shut up!” R threw a pillow at Courf who giggled in return. “Anyway, married or not, I was a fool to think a guy like that would as much as look at _me.”_

Courf stood still, suddenly becoming more serious. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked instantly.

“You know what it means. It means I’m terrible.” R shrugged.

Courf punched him. “You’re an idiot!” he said firmly “But you’re a good guy. I’m telling you, if it wasn’t against my religion to be in a serious romantic relationship with anyone, I’d be all over you.”

Grantaire smiled. It was so sweet of Courfeyrac to always try to boost his self-esteem. Probably because he didn’t want Grantaire to go to rehab again, or be as depressed as he was after his last breakup. Yes, Courfeyrac was a good friend.

“I just… I felt something, Courf.” R said “When I saw him, when I saw Enjolras… I felt something!”

“It’s probably called arousal.” Courf said slowly as if talking to a toddler.

“You’re such an idiot!” R rolled his eyes. “It was more than that! I haven’t felt like this since—since…” he bit his lips.

“Since that d!ck Felix!” Courf exclaimed “I thought we said we’re never mentioning that horrid name again! No more Felix! Felix is in the past! He’s gone!”

Grantaire nodded.

Silence.

Courfeyrac sighed theatrically like he was a drama student.

“Fine! I’ll let you go after that Enjolras of yours!” he said “Heck, I’ll even distract his husband for you. Would you smile and stop looking like a scorned puppy then?”

R grinned instantly and nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, operation Get Apollo begins first thing tomorrow morning!” Courf announced.


	2. Enjolras Meets Grantaire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter represents Enjolras' side of the story :)

Enjolras was deep in his book when some guy suddenly started chatting him up. Again. Seriously, he just wanted to groan, roll his eyes and basically hit the guy in the face. Everyone thought that just because he was on a holiday and there was no one around him, he was looking for... _special company._ Well, that was not the case and Enjolras thought a thick book might give a hint to such individuals that he was not interested. And yet, everywhere he went everyone - boys, girls, nonbinary - everyone were hitting on him shamelessly. Free country and all but it was really getting on his nerves. 

So when this kind of chubby, curly haired, green eyed person with the huge grin on his face sat next to him and glanced at Enjolras a few times, Enj already knew what was coming. 

"What a great day! We should celebrate" the man said

Enjolras suppressed a groan, looked at the intruder and said, trying not to make his voice too biting. "My husband's bringing me a drink right now for that precise purpose." 

To say Enjolras was pleased with himself was an understatement. Enjolras was thriving on the shocked face he was expecting to see after this remark. 

Instead the man's face seemed somehow brighter when he grinned even wider and replied ""Mine too!"

 _Oh, God! This is humiliating! This is embarrassing! What was I thinking!?_ Enjolras' head went crazy there for a moment. He got too full of himself and this was exactly the sort of slap in the face he needed in order to return down to earth. He got so annoyed and mad at those presumptuous people who just assumed he was looking for a date, and now suddenly he was acting like one of those people - he assumed that just because this man was talking to him, he was after something else. 

He forced himself to smile as casually as he could as he felt he was blushing from embarrassment. "Oh! Good!" he exclaimed, putting the book aside. "I'm terribly sorry, I got the wrong impression about you..." 

The man seemed puzzled. "Hmmm?" 

 _Well, yes! Of course he was puzzled! He was trying to make a friendly conversation; he didn't expect Enjolras's mind to instantly go in **that**_ _direction!_

"Umm, no never mind" Enj said, feeling stupid

He was expecting to see the man leave instantly as far away as possible, or at least to ignore Enjolras but instead he heard: "I'm Grantaire" in a friendly voice and a hand extended for a handshake. 

"Enjolras..." Enj smiled, relieved, taking the stranger's hand in his own. 

 

Turned out Grantaire was not that bad at all. In fact, Grantaire was rather nice. In fact, Grantaire was not the annoying creep Enjolras thought him to be... well, to be brief, Enjolras kind of liked Grantaire's company... in a strange kind of way... Anyway. Grantaire was married and here came his husband. 

Enjolras was no fool. He knew his own faults very well. He knew he came across a bit stiff, a bit awkward socially, a bit aloof and cold when it came to normal human relationships. That was mostly because he needed time in order to feel comfortable around strangers. That's why he preferred to keep things professional and organized. Only his closest friends actually knew what a dork he was. Everyone else just thought they didn't need to bother because he was an unemotional d!ck. 

Frankly, he didn't want Grantaire to think  _that_ about him so he tried to be as polite as possible. Which on the other hand made him sound ridiculously pompous in his own ears. 

And then there was  _the husband - Courfeyrac._ Courfeyrac was the exact opposite of Enjolras when it came to socializing. He was charming, funny, clever and open. So naturally, Enjolras was not Grantaire's type. 

He bit his lip, when he realized what strange direction his thoughts suddenly took and was more than happy when he saw Combeferre joining them too with the drinks. Combeferre, naturally, knew the drill. 

"We have a thing." he said and Enjolras nodded in agreement. 

"Yes, we have a thing." he repeated and took the opportunity to shake Grant's hand once again. So soft and warm and strong around his own delicate hand. Those were the hands of an artist, Enj thought, but it was probably just stupid to assume things about a man you just met. A _married_ man you just met. 

"It was really great talking to you, Grantaire" he said, R's hand still in his. And then of course he realized that he had forgotten to mention a very important thing "...Courfeyrac." he added and then looked at them both "I hope we do this again." he said

"I hope we do it soon!" Grant replied politely 

_Oh, boy! If only we could..._

************************************************

"What was that all about?" Combeferre asked as they were walking rather quickly on their way to the hotel 

"What do you mean?" Enjolras asked, not looking at Combeferre. 

"You know exactly what I mean, Enj." Combeferre said "That look on your face? I haven't seen that look on your face since we were in high school." 

"Don't go there, Ferre." Enjolras warned. 

"You liked him, didn't ya?" Ferre chuckled, shaking his head 

Enjolras stopped his pace, turned around and got closer to Combeferre, looking a bit infuriated. "I do not like him." he hissed 

"Right. And I don't know you at all." Ferre said sarcastically 

Enj ran his fingers through his hair and huffed. 

"It's fine, Enj. It's okay to like people again." Combeferre said warmly. 

Enj only looked up at him and shook his head desperately. "I cannot, Ferre. Not yet." 

"Hey, come here." Ferre pulled him into a friendly hug. Enj allowed it and snuggled closer, desperate for the comfort. "It's okay. I'm here. You're not alone." 

Enj nodded into Combeferre's embrace. "Yes... I know. Thank you!" 

They stood like this in the lobby for a few moments and then finally Combeferre broke the silence. "You know, what I don't get is, if you liked him, why did you tell him I was your husband?" he furrowed his brow "I thought we only did that to the annoying ones." 

Enjolras pulled away and rolled his eyes at Ferre. "Just be married to me and let me live my life!" he said, causing Ferre to laugh amused as they went back to their respective hotel rooms. 

************************************************

“Enjolras!” he heard his name and looked around. “Over here!”

It was Grantaire, waving at him, waiting for him  _and his husband_ to join him  _and his husband_ to dinner. He looked beautiful in Enjolras' eyes. _It was probably mostly the soft messy curly black hair that seemed so tempting to touch_ , Enj thought and dismissed any further contemplation of the subject. 

He went to Grantaire and heard himself mumble “Combeferre is running a bit late…” 

“It’s okay. Courfeyrac is too." Grantaire said his voice sounding so bright and full of good humour. He then added "We could start without them, y’know.” 

Enjolras welcomed the idea and the two went to the hotel restaurant to get their dinner. 

************************************************

Their dinner felt so much like a date to Enj and this was making him feel really uncomfortable at first. But then Grantaire did something to him; something Enj could not quite explain. Grantaire actually made him feel relaxed and unrestrained. Talking with Grantaire was easy and soon Enjolras forgot all the circumstances and just enjoyed the lovely evening he was having. He was almost ready to forgive Combeferre for standing him up. 

"You go downstairs, I just need to finish up a few things here and I'll join you." his friend had said. And here it was now... so far into the dinner... and Ferre wasn't here. It was probably his silly idea that Enjolras had a crush on Grantaire. Ha! As if!

Of course, Enjolras did notice some things about Grantaire. Things that were quite pleasing actually. Like his eyes... There was this strange fire in Grantaire's eyes that was hypnotizing Enjolras. Also by the end of the evening he had to admit at least to himself that he had a thing about Grantaire's arms and hands. On several occasions he caught himself wonder what would it feel like to be unwrapped in those arms, feeling so warm and safe and welcoming... 

Grantaire's hands poured more wine into their glasses. Enjolras chuckled. 

"What?" R asked amused

"You seem to be a fan of wine." Enj smiled in reply

"I've been told I have a good taste." Grant replied causing Enj to bite his lip. 

"Of course. You chose Courfeyrac for a husband." he said, and he manage not to sound bitter. 

"What? Oh, yeah, right. I did." Grantaire nodded and drank his wine in two large gulps. 

He then poured more wine. 

“Another drink!?” Enjolras exclaimed “Don’t you think we had enough?”

“Wine is the drink of life so let’s live” Grantaire replied

Enjolras chuckled and shook his head with a smile. R finished pouring the wine and raised his glass for a toast.

“At least you’re drinking in style” Enjolras remarked and the alcohol-induced flush on Grantaire's cheeks made him wish for things he could not have again. 

“Um…” he glanced at his watch “… maybe I should go check on Combeferre…. He was supposed to be here by now…”  

Grantaire's face fell. “Oh! Right. Well… he’s not down yet so…”

Grantaire was going to invite him to stay longer and Enj just knew that he would not be able to refuse. Especially with all that wine he drank with Grant now, he was not sure he could really trust himself not to do something he might regret in the morning. “No, I really think I should go now!” Enjolras said while he still had his self-control about him 

Grantaire nodded and swallowed. “Of course. Your husband probably needs you…” 

 _Yours too,_ Enj thought and quickly shoved that thought at the back of his mind. “Thank you for the lovely evening. I—" he heard himself mumble as he got up "We should do it again sometime… with both our husbands here. Like a double date.”

He payed for his part of the dinner and left the restaurant only to find himself at a bar nearby, ordering more drinks for himself. When he finally got to his room he had no particular memories as to how he did that exactly and just dropped down on the bed as he was in his clothes and passed out, mumbling nonsense under his breath. 


	3. What Normal People Do, What We Do

R was headed down to the lobby when he saw Combeferre returning to his room with a bunch of books. Seriously? He never heard of PDF? 

Anyway, Grantaire was struck by an instant guilt for all his plans to flirt shamelessly with this guy's husband so he thought the least he could do was be friendly with him and help him with all those heavy books. So he rushed to greet him. 

"Hey, Combeferre." he smiled, striding to him "Need a hand there?" he asked as he pointed to the books. 

"Oh. No. I'm fine." Combeferre replied quickly.

R nodded. "So..." he started awkwardly, trying to come up with something to say. "That's a lot of books!"  

"It is, yes." Ferre agreed, fumbling with the door

R rolled his eyes. "I know you're fine but let me take those" he said, lifting some of the weight of the books from Ferre's arms so that he could open his room. 

Combeferre opened the door and got in, leaving it open for R to bring inside the books he was carrying. 

The room was a lot like the room he and Courf were sharing, only theirs had two beds. It seemed really tidy if one ignores all the books and strangely looking tubes that were all over the table and most of the floor. 

"Is Enjolras at the beach?" Grantaire couldn't help but ask. 

Ferre frowned for a moment as if he had forgotten that he wasn't alone in the room. 

"What? Oh, no, Enj's in his room." he blurted out before realizing what he had said. 

R looked around with a sarcastic chuckle. "Is his superpower to be invisible?" he joked 

Ferre seemed really nervous now. He adjusted his glasses as he frowned and cleared his throat a bit as if he were going to give a speech. 

"Actually Enjolras has a separate room." he said 

R realized his jaw had dropped and was now slightly open. Ferre must have read his confusion because he began giving a stuttered explanation as to why two young married lovers were sleeping in separate bedrooms in a hotel. 

"I came here to work on a research, mostly, so we thought it'd be more reasonable if we did not distract one another by sharing a room." he said

"Oh. I see." R nodded, still frowning. "Yeah, that is reasonable..." he said, not really making any sense of it at all. Had  _he_ been Enjolras' husband, he'd never ever want to spend one night separated from him, work or no work. He'd be spending his time giving Enjolras all the love, care and attention he deserved. And frankly, he found the fact that Combeferre was not appreciating what he had strangely infuriating. Enj deserved to be treated better! Enj deserved to be appreciated and loved! Enj deserved better!

"So... you're working now?" he asked, trying to hide his resentment, wishing to be far away from here as possible. 

"Yes." Ferre nodded, arranging some papers and data on the table. 

"Okay. I won't bother you then." he walked towards the door but then suddenly an idea struck him. "Say, Ferre..." he stopped and turned around again "Shall I take Enj on the beach then? If he's alone and bored in the hotel..." 

"Yes! Yes, Grantaire, that sounds good." Ferre said, sounding a bit annoyed at Grantaire's presence there. 

"Well, okay then. If you say it's no problem." R said and waved Ferre goodbye. 

How was it that Ferre was not jealous at all by the fact that some strange guy was taking his husband somewhere was beyond Grantaire. It was almost as if Ferre did not care and that was just... ugh. Or did he trust Enjolras and their love so blindly? They looked close but not really that much in love. 

 _His loss is my gain,_  R thought instead and knocked on the door he found out was Enj's.

********************************

Enj was being bored to death and cursed this 'vacation' for a hundredth time when he heard a knock on the door. In his naivety, he thought it was Ferre who finally realized that it'd be better to get some rest every now and then and stay with Enj so that they could perhaps discuss stuff or just hang out. It was a waste of time and with this bad Wi-Fi connection he couldn't really do much in a hotel room. How can he run his blog and spread ideas with such bad connection?

He rushed to the door and opened it with a grin but then he saw it was Grantaire instead of Combeferre. 

"Oh!" Enj was stunned. Memories from his headache after the previous night flushed in his mind but he quickly ignored them and smiled at Grant. "Hello." he said a bit shyly. 

"Hi" Grant greeted "I was helping Combeferre and..." that was a poor way to invite someone to out "He told me you were here so I was wondering if you'd want to hang out?" 

There was another huge grin on R's face. 

Helping Ferre? So probably Ferre told R to come hang out with Enjolras. Probably R didn't even want it but felt pity on Enjolras for being stuck in here. Yeah, R's charity was not what Enj really wanted. 

"I have what to do here, y'know" he said before his brain could even register what his mouth was doing. 

Grantaire seemed really confused by this reply. "Oh" he muttered "Of course. I'm sorry. See you around then." he said and was about to leave when Enjolras quickly came to his senses and called after him. 

"Grant! Wait" he said reaching out for him. Pity or no pity, he wanted to spend more time with that man. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I've been in this room for far too long. Of course, I'd love for us to hang out." 

And just like that the smile was back on Gratnaire's face. 

"Sure! Let's go then!" he said cheerfully 

"Where are we going exactly?" Enj asked, letting Grant drag him out of the room. 

"The beach" R winked and Enj felt his blood freeze. 

********************************

"No way!" Grantaire laughed, almost snorting. 

"Yes, way." Enjolras shrugged with a smile. 

"That's absolutely impossible! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Grantaire continued, still not able to stop laughing like a crazy person. 

"Yes... Thank you for that, Grant." Enjolras rolled his eyes "You give such support." 

The two were lying on towels on the sand when Grantaire suggested they go for a swim together and Enjolras politely declined several times until he finally confessed that he did not know how to swim. 

"Why did you come to a seaside resort if you can't swim?" Grantaire asked curiously. It just did not make any sense and Enjolras did not strike him as an idiot. "You can't be serious about not being able to swim!" 

"I am serious about it. I'll drown if I'm in the water." 

Grantaire pushed aside the image of Enjolras in the water, all wet and gorgeous, and went for a joke instead. "So you came here for the solitude?"

Enj gave a little laugh. The beach was basically filled with people. It was the last place one would go if one wanted peace and solitude. 

He shook his head. "No, Combeferre loves the beach but he didn't want to go on his own so..." 

"Of course. _He_ dragged you here. Yes, right. You're doing this for Combeferre." his husband Combeferre who doesn't even appreciate what he has! Combeferre who was spending this holiday on his stupid research instead of on Enjolras. Combeferre who seemed so unbothered by the fact that a strange man wanted to take his husband around the beach and have fun with him. "You're a really good husband, Enjolras..." R said and he really meant it. A strange pain settled in his chest though and R wanted to cut it out of there and throw it away because he  _knew what that pain was_ and he wasn't ready to get his heart broken again. "Combeferre is a lucky guy." 

Enjolras pursed his lips. "Do you want to get an ice cream or something?" he changed the subject quickly "I burn easily." 

R had a quick glance at Enjolras' body and nodded "Sure. I could use some cooling down and I love ice cream." he grinned joyfully.

********************************

Ferre was frowning at his book. Things didn't really add up as he hoped they would so in his frustration he grabbed one of his books and decided that having a glass of juice would clear up his mind. The last thing he expected in the half-empty bar was to find company. 

"Has anyone ever told you that you have an attractive reading face?" a pleasant voice asked. 

Ferre frowned even more because really who talks like that!? He was about to tell the man whoever he was that his attention was not desired when he actually lifted his head and saw that it was Courfeyrac. 

"Oh" well, he had to be polite now. Apparently. They were something like friends. Or acquaintances. Or whatever... Combeferre was too socially awkward to actually know what they're supposed to talk about now. 

"Well?" Courf repeated, arching an eyebrow while he was giving Ferre a smile

"Is this what you sound like when you're flirting?" Ferre asked, suddenly feeling bald for some reason

Courfeyrac chuckled amused. "P erhaps" he said and sat down on the chair next to Ferre's. "Mind if I join you?" he then asked.

"Seems like you've joined me already" Ferre replied, closing his book and putting it away on the table. 

"Grantaire left me so..." 

Ferre's eyes went wide in horror.  "Oh, dear! Did he break up with you? On your vacation? That's really--" 

Courf burst into a jolly laughter, leaving Ferre even more confused now. 

"No, no." he replied when he got some of his breath back "I mean that he exited the room and left me inside it." 

"Oh..." Ferre blushed embarrassed by his mistake "Terribly sorry. I assumed you two..." 

"I see." he bit his lip, amused "You don't seem to have much confidence in relationships, Monsieur Combeferre." Courf noted 

"I never had a chance. All the data I have on relationships usually suggests that things end up in tears." 

"But doesn't that mean the thing is worth experiencing?" 

Ferre looked at him confused "You mean, the worse it gets, the more people like it?" 

"Pain is so close to pleasure" Courf replied, the same smile on his face

Ferre frowned. "I do not agree with you there. Pain is necessary, it means the nerves and receptors in our body work properly. But I hardly see how it could be a pleasure." 

"So you'd rather give up on happiness out of fear that it might go wrong?" he raised an eyebrow 

"My happiness lies elsewhere." Ferre said

"You mean, not in love? How does your husband feel about that?" Courf pressed, leaning on the table a bit. 

Ferre was about to say something and suddenly bit his lip. 

"Did I embarrass you?" Courf smiled pleasantly

Ferre shook his head. "Not at all." he replied quickly but the strange blush on his face that wouldn't go away said otherwise.

"I apologize." Courf said, not letting Ferre out of his sight. "I tend to talk too much with people I like."

"It's called natural sympathy." Ferre supplied

"What?"

"When you sort of... click with someone from the start." Ferre explained "It's called natural sympathy."

Courf grinned. "And you think we have this natural sympathy?" he asked

"We have-- I don't know. I was just providing information." he stuttered

Courf chuckled fondly. Maybe keeping Ferre company while R was having the time of his life with Enjolras wasn't that bad after all. 

"You seem to be really knowledgeable." Courf said, enjoying Ferre's awkwardness.

Ferre looked at Courf confused for a moment and then frowned. "I have a research to continue." he said "I hope you don't feel offended if I go back to my room now." 

"Can I come too?" Courf asked innocently 

"No!" Ferre replied quickly as he got up from the chair. 

"Need a hand?" Courf offered

"No, I can do it on my own." Ferre said, grabbing his books and hugging them close to his chest. 

Courf was still smiling at him. 

"Well... goodbye..." Ferre said, still not moving, eyes fixed on Courfeyrac. 

"Goodbye." Courf smiled warmly. 

"I'm going." Ferre explained.

"I know." Courf replied

"Yes. So bye." Ferre said once again, hating himself for not being able to just turn around and stop looking at Courf! 

Courf waved him goodbye, his soft eyes still looking warmly at Ferre. 

Ferre sighed and left the bar with a sigh. _Socializing was a bad idea! Next time, stick to books!_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, commenting, kudos-ing...  
> Have a fun day!


End file.
